Payments
How 5 technologies are changing the self-service landscape
A NAMA session explored five technologies that improve efficiency: artificial intelligence, robotics, cyber security, recognition validation and the European 2.0 vending machine protocols.
August 30, 2021 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times
No one disputes that keeping up with technology has become more important in convenience services.
From the operator's standpoint, one of the most important benefits of technology is improved efficiency, said Chris Stave, director of business development at Parlevel Systems, during a session at the recent National Automatic Merchandising Association show at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.
"If you want to provide better services and not raise the cost that much, you have to gain efficiency," Stave said. "In 14 years, technology has turned this industry basically upside down, and it's become a better industry for it."
All five of the technologies discussed during the session, "Trending Technologies in Convenience Services," are designed to improve efficiency in some way: artificial intelligence, robotics, cyber security, recognition validation and the European 2.0 vending machine protocols.
Cyber security
Out of these five trends, cyber security is one of the newest and potentially the most critical, given the recent rise in cyber crime.
Panelist Paresh Patel, founder and CEO of PayRange, gave an overview of cyber security issues and what operators can do to prevent becoming a ransomware victim.
While convenience services operators are used to thinking about physical security, "We live in a different world today, and security also encompasses the digital aspect of stuff," Patel said.
Patel showed a picture of a "ransomware attack" screen alerting the user that the computer is not accessible and they must send a payment in bitcoin to a certain website to regain control of the computer within a certain period of time, after which the "ransom" will rise, and a second date by which the files will be destroyed.
"You are completely paralyzed in a sense," Patel said. "You cannot access your files. You cannot access the Internet…You are just locked."
Ransomware attacks arrive on computers via spam email that includes links for people to open. In some cases, the email is in the form of a fax that contains the link.
The government advises people not to pay ransoms, he said, but in many cases the companies decide it makes sense to do so.
Patel said one of his vending operator customers suffered a ransomware attack.
"They couldn't do anything," he said. "They couldn't run routes, they couldn't pay bills everything was locked up."
The company did not pay the ransom, but it took nearly three months to replace all its computers and its data. The customer also happened to have cybersecurity insurance software to cover rebuilding the IT infrastructure.
"The weakest link are your people," Patel said. Companies should instruct employees not to click attachments. Another preventive measure is to back up systems offline and/or on the cloud so there are alternative processes available.
Vending 2.0
Patel then switched his focus to Vending 2.0 , a European Vending Association initiative to ensure uniform equipment protocols for equipment across both Europe and the U.S.
Vending 2.0 will include a protocol to replace the current multi-drop bus standard, a 1990s standard that enables machines to connect to peripherals and computers. All peripherals are effectively "slaves" to the vending machine under the current MDB protocol.
The Vending 2.0 protocol, by contrast, will not be governed by the vending machine itself, Patel said, but will be more open whereby different devices will interact directly.
"It's designed to allow future capabilities effectively," he said.
Growing the business
Panelist Maeve McKenna Duska, chief marketing and strategy officer, ID Tech, addressed using technology to grow the business.
COVID has enabled businesses to harness technology more than before, Duska said.
"We were forced to leverage technology to continue to do the things we wanted to do and to buy all the things we wanted to buy," she said.
The five trends that emerged from COVID are: DIY your purchases; Leave your wallet and keys at home; Personalization; Retail my way; and Payment alternatives.
Unattended customer interactions are no longer restricted to supermarkets checkouts, micro markets and vending, she said.
"Now it's everywhere you go. People don't want to have to talk to people, (or) touch people," she said. "A whole new generation of consumers that were resistant before… have all become acclimated to unattended when they are purchasing things."
Consumers have changed
Duska noted the following customer survey statistics:
- 63% of consumers said they would switch to a business that uses contactless payment options.
- 43% would not shop at stores requiring contact with a cashier.
- 46% said contactless payment is among the most important safety measure.
- 67% of retailers now accept some type of contactless payment.
- 71% of consumers are frustrated when the shopping experience is not personal, while 75% said they will buy more when loyalty programs are available.
- 62% of consumers prefer to buy in-store with digital content, while only 16% of consumers who changed buying habits during COVID will revert to those practices.
When mobile pay was first introduced, one reason it did not catch on was the consumer could not leave their wallet at home, Duska said. They still needed an ID card, a payment card and car keys.
"The good news now is that Apple is really trying to change that for real," she said. "Now there are digital car keys, ways to access buildings remotely and connect your ID card to your mobile wallet.
"From the business side, there is definitely lots of opportunity with that data you can pull in," she said with regard to personalization. "From the consumer side, it allows you to give them his hyper personalized experience."
When locations closed, many businesses offered pick up and delivery, which consumers loved.
"Now they want you to continue to offer that to them," she said.
In addition, people are ordering on social media and using virtual assistants.
In response to these consumer habits, businesses are delivering to a variety of destinations, Duska said, including pickup lockers in addition to homes, workplaces and leisure destinations.
In addition, payment alternatives have become more varied, including voice recognition, facial recognition, eye tracking (staring) and cryptocurrency.
AI and robotics
Panelist John Hickey, co-founder, Tech 2 Success LLC, expanded on artificial intelligence and robotics. He defined AI as any technique that enables computers to mimic human intelligence.
Machine learning is a type of AI that enables machines to improve at tasks, he said, while deep learning is a subset of machine learning that leverages multiple layers of information to allow more decisions to be made automatically as it gains more data.
Examples of AI that already exist are:
- Waze uses AI to provide drivers smarter routes.
- Netflix uses AI to learn what type of movies consumers watch.
- Robotic deliveries are a growing retail trend.
"The challenge with AI is that it's very expensive," he said. "The good news for us is that our technology providers are making those investments…so that over the next few years expect your technology providers to come out with new solutions."
The "smart stores" that are becoming more visible use computer vision technology to take photos of products as they are being handled in real time.
Hickey also said brands that operators carry are now doing more "direct to consumer" selling, meaning operators themselves should be looking at delivering products this way using e-commerce as well. A convenience services operator serving a campus location has an example of an opportunity to deploy robotic delivery.
"In your supply chain and planning, you'll know more about who the consumers are," he said.
Michael Kasavana, Ph.D., the NAMA endowed professor emeritus, moderated the session.
About Elliot Maras
Elliot Maras is the editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. He brings three decades covering unattended retail and commercial foodservice.
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